NEW ORLEANS — In a city of hidden gems, such as swamps just beyond a concrete fortress, lies a historic site, a real beach created out of hatred and total segregation in New Orleans but shaped into a safe haven.
“It was our little piece of heaven.”
Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy has fond memories of Lincoln Beach.
“It was an amusement park where we could go on rides. And for me, a girl from the neighborhood. It was ‘the big pool’ an Olympic-sized pool. That was a long day trip as though you were going to another parish,” Dr. Saloy says.
“We got three different buses, but to get there and experience the Black Beach, it was great.”
Those feelings are forever documented in the poem named after the manmade site.
“My sister took us little ones to Lincoln beach, the Negro beach on Lake Pontchartrain shore of 3,000 mini-me kids laughing.”
The site opened in the late 1930s. There was a massive renovation in 1954. About 10 years later, the beach closed. Since then, it's been on the decline.
“Lincoln Beach, our beach, now decayed and deserted, like old Jim Crow laws, but standing barely crippled since closed.”
But there's a new community push to recreate that nostalgia.
“How it is today, I really think it's like a crime of neglect. There's something so beautiful people have so many memories over there, that it just like shut down and let go,” Sage Michael, who is in that number of people longing to bring back the beloved beach.
Michael says a lot goes into restoring Lincoln Beach.
“I started cleaning out one bag at a time and partnered with community members who say this has to happen and is happening. So, we have over $25 million of funding in the bank. And we made sure that money is sitting in a bank. I'm so excited. Excited about other news, too, like historical designation moving,” Michael says.
He says he is excited about all the support the historic site has received.
“You know, I'm Goofy. Goofy, so I dealt with joy.”
When asked why the city needs Lincoln Beach, Michael says it is an asset to the city unlike no other in Louisiana.
Michael has several long-term goals for the site.
“The future like a beach. I want to see (it) like it used to be, a busload of people used to come over here,” Michael says.
“I want to be able to walk these lands like I been doing, giving people tours. I want to be to get in my kayak and let's go kayak to shores and teach, and walk the water with children, the kayaks. I want you to sit back against the tree and watch people enjoy the work that the community has done. That's heaven on earth for me, right?
Dr. Saloy says, “In terms of the Negro beach. I see it as our paradise.”
A past paradise brought back to life.
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